Loveless
by Mew Draiku
Summary: [YM x YY] Yami saves Marik from complete void. Why? Because he loves him, that's why.


Mew: Well, this one's sort of odd. Some of you may dislike the couple in it, but in my opinion, Marik looks good with _anybody_, except Honda. –gigglesnort-

Draiku: Good lords…you put _those_ two together! –screams-

Mew: Yup…Marik and Yami, AKA Clashshipping. Bear in mind that, even though this is called "Loveless," it has nothing to do with Ritsuka or Soubi or that anime/manga in general. It's all Yu-Gi-Oh, man.

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Loveless

Yami growled slightly at the sight of Marik laughing insanely in front of him. He drew a card out of his deck.

"And now I play…Ragnarok!" he yelled. He wished that he never had to duel Marik, because secretly, he liked the other yami. He knew that Marik was insane, and he guessed that he never wanted to do all of these things, but alas, insanity was insanity, and it had to be either cured, or wiped off the face of the planet.

Marik gasped and let out a cry of pain as all of Yami's cards attacked him at the same time. Yami felt something stab his heart, and he wished that he hadn't played that card in the first place. He thought that the duel was over, but once the holographic smoke cleared, he saw Malik, Marik's hikari, standing where Marik once was, looking exhausted. He had a single life-point left. Next to him was a floating eyeball that was widened in fear and pain. Malik looked up to it, then back at the former pharaoh.

"Y-you spared me," he murmured. Yami gulped slightly, but managed to keep a dignified posture. "Thank you, my pharaoh." Malik lifted his arm and Marik's single floating eye widened.

"No, Malik, hikari, please, don't do this! We could rule together, we could have the world at our feet! Attack him with Ra, that's all there is to it!" said a voice that obviously came from Marik. Malik glared at him.

"I will bury you with my own hands," he hissed. He was about to place his hand on the Duel Disk, when Yami suddenly got an idea. He let Yugi have control for a bit while he became his spirit form and, just as Malik placed his hand on the Duel Disk, he grabbed Marik's hand before he could be dragged down into Hell. Yami hurriedly pulled him into the Millennium Puzzle, the only place that he could take Marik at the moment. He then took control of Yugi once more and faced Malik. The teenage Egyptian tore the cape off of his shoulders and threw it off the tower, where it drifted to the ground.

"The winner is, Yugi Mutou!" the ref yelled. Malik walked over to him, and Yami stepped forwards. Malik handed his god card, the Winged Dragon of Ra, to him.

"Thank you, pharaoh," he said as the shadows that were surrounding them in their duel faded. "And of course, these are yours," he added and took the Millennium Ring off of his neck. He handed him the Millennium Rod.

"Thank you," Yami said. After Malik took off his shirt and presented the scars on his back to him, they went back to the blimp, ready to leave.

-

Only a day later, Yami entered his soul room, where Marik was. He saw the dark entity sitting on the floor against the wall in a shadowed corner. The only thing that showed was his glaring eyes, which kept the former pharaoh paralyzed. They stood in silence.

"Why did you take me here?" Marik's hoarse voice asked, breaking the quiet. Yami could have jumped to the moon. He never expected the Egyptian to speak. He paused, thinking up an excuse.

"I…didn't think that you were insane, I thought that you were innocent," he answered. "And…I can't let an innocent soul die," he added quickly. Marik cackled slightly.

"Poor, poor naïve pharaoh. You realize that now I can kill you from the inside out?" he said evilly. Yami hesitated.

"But I did save your life," he commented. Marik sneered slightly. He looked away.

"Fine. I'll spare you this time, but next time, you won't be so lucky," he growled. Yami smiled slightly.

"You…aren't acting like you normally do," he mumbled.

"Tch," Marik replied, "I actually always act this way. When I was trapped in Malik's mind, I had pills that I had to take. The day before I was released, I forgot to take them. So I'm only insane when I don't have my pills." Yami blinked.

"So…you need your medication now?" he asked.

"I have it right here," Marik said, showing him a small bottle of capsules. "It never runs out, by the way." He opened it and popped it into his mouth. "Anyway, as much as I don't want to do this, thanks for saving my life back there, but then again, an eternity of darkness and void would be better than being in here with you," he snarled. Yami felt crestfallen at his words.

"R-right, just…make yourself at home, I guess," he said quietly. "I need to check up on Yugi." Marik didn't move. Yami left his soul room and went into Yugi's.

-

"Yugi," Yami said quietly. Yugi looked up from a jigsaw puzzle he was doing. At the moment both were in their soul rooms, which meant that Yugi was asleep.

"Yes, Other Me?" he asked with a smile.

"Please don't be angry with me, but…um, Marik's in the Millennium Puzzle," Yami said, and waited for Yugi to explode on him.

"WHAT!" Yugi cried, standing up. "HE'S in there with you! That's outrageous! He's supposed to be _dead_! We saw Malik kill him, and go to Hell! How did he get in here! This is insane!" He continued to ramble until they both heard a chuckle come from the doorway. Yugi and Yami both looked to see Marik, leaning against the entry of the door with his arms crossed.

"I knew that I wasn't wanted here," he said, eyeing the fingernails on his right hand. "For your information, little Yugi, that yami of yours happened to pull me in." He pointed at Yami.

"Yeah, right! Yami wanted you dead as much as I did!" Yugi objected. He clearly didn't want to believe a word out of Marik's mouth.

"Why don't you ask him then, Shorty?" Marik replied with a smug grin. Yugi glared daggers at him, but turned to Yami.

"Did you really?" he asked. Yami hesitated, but finally nodded.

"Yeah, I did," he mumbled. Yugi gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. "I thought that he was innocent, and that he had just lost it!" Yami said quickly.

"Yami…" Yugi muttered. "Go back to your soul room. Marik, go to yours." Marik laughed out loud as Yami did as he was told to.

"The great pharaoh, being told off by a kid! That's just too much!" he cried, standing in the space between Yami and Yugi's soul rooms.

"And you'd better get to your room, soon. Keep in mind that I'm the host here, and if you don't do as I say, I'll toss the Puzzle," Yugi said, peering out from his room. Yami gasped.

"You wouldn't!" he cried.

"I'd definitely think about it, though," Yugi replied, retreating back to his room before Yami could say any more. Marik cackled again and went into his soul room, which looked extremely temporary. Yami sighed. _How can I get through to him…?_ he wondered before going to bed.

-

Yami worked up his courage to talk to Marik a bit. He walked into Marik's soul room and saw the other yami sitting on a small bed, staring at a photograph of Malik, Isis, and Rishid. Marik paid almost no attention to Yami's presence, he only stared at the picture.

"You know," Marik said after a bit, "this may seem weird, but I think of Malik and Rishid as brothers, and Isis as a sister." Yami blinked slightly.

"You do?" he asked. Marik nodded, and Yami noticed a stray tear fall from his eye.

"Yeah. It sounds a bit strange. Actually, ever since I was created, I wanted a real family. I remember listening to Malik's conversations with Isis and Rishid, sitting quietly and trying to speak up, but then I remembered that I don't have a body, and I couldn't interact with them." He sighed, lowering his head. "Then one day Malik's father threatened to kill my 'family'. I didn't know what else to do, so I killed him. I didn't know that it was such a horrible thing to do.

"Worst of all, I knew that if I were to ever get a body of my own, Malik would

have to die, and Rishid and Isis would hate me for that. Then I'd never be part of a family," he said and held his head in his hands for a long moment. Yami didn't know what to say or do. Marik would probably get angry at him for trying to comfort him by hugging him, or something, and words that would be appropriate for this situation didn't come to his mind.

"Of course," Marik mumbled. "I'll never be part of one now since everyone hates me."

"I don't," Yami said. He gasped and blushed, clapping a hand over his mouth. The two small, meaningful words had slipped out, and he had no control over them or Marik's reaction. The other yami looked up at him, his eyes wide.

"You…don't?" he asked. Yami nodded, still blushing. He felt dizzy and weak, afraid of what Marik would think. Marik looked away, back at the photo. "Well, thanks, I guess," he muttered, though slightly unsure of Yami's honesty. "Um, do you have anything to eat around here?" he asked.

"I'm not quite sure…" Yami admitted. They stayed silent for a bit longer.

"Hey…" Marik said. "Will you forgive me for trying to kill you like that?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Yami. Yami blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Uh, sure," he said. Marik sighed, and Yami noted that it sounded as if he was relieved.

"Thanks. I guess that I got tired of hating people," he replied. _Thank the gods,_ Yami thought. _He doesn't hate me anymore._

"Why do—I mean, did, you hate me anyway?" Yami asked.

"You've seen Malik's back, right? That's why. That tradition's been around for centuries, ever since you died in ancient Egypt. As soon as an Ishtar went through that ceremony, they were enslaved for life. We were trapped in your tomb, waiting for your return. If Malik hadn't disobeyed the family laws, we'd still be down there," he said.

"So you have those scars…?" Marik nodded.

"Of course I do, dolt. That's practically how I was born." They sat in silence. Marik suddenly lied down on the bed and pulled a blanket over his body. "G'night," he muttered. Yami blinked.

"Uh, yeah. Good night," he replied and left the room.

-

Yami took control of Yugi one day, then he let Marik have control. It was Marik's request to do this. He wanted to apologize to Malik for hurting him and causing him so much pain.

Marik, using Yugi's body, picked up the telephone and dialed Malik's number. Yami and Malik had actually exchanged numbers so they could stay in contact. He waited patiently for his hikari to pick up.

-

Malik heard his cell phone ringing and he answered it.

"Hello? Malik Ishtar speaking," he said.

"Malik," said the voice on the other end. Malik gasped. This person sounded exactly like Marik!

"Who are you! How did you get my number!" he demanded into the phone.

"I…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For everything, killing your father, using your body to try to kill the pharaoh, everything." Malik gasped again.

"W-who are you? How did you know about my yami!" he asked in a hiss. But there was no answer, only the low, continuous noise of the telephone.

-

Marik let Yugi have control again and he thanked Yami for letting him do that.

"I hope that he'll forgive me," he mumbled, leaning against the wall of Yami's soul room. "Thanks again for letting me use you and Yugi's body."

"No problem," Yami said with a smile. Marik smiled back and left the soul room and went into his own. He gazed out through one of the windows, which was Yugi's eye, and removed his shirt. He breathed deeply, sighing with some sort of relief.

"Marik, you forgot something in—what the!" Yami exclaimed upon seeing Marik. Marik gasped and flicked around. "Y-you have huge wings!" Marik looked away, furling his black wings against his back.

"All yamis do. But they only appear when they've saved someone's life, then they become a form of Guardian angel," he muttered. "You most likely have them too." Yami gasped.

"I thought that I was the only one," he muttered. "I had no idea that yamis could get wings."

"Oh? What color are yours, then?" Marik asked, looking up. Yami took off his jacket and vest, unfurling his red ones.

"I think that they're orange-red, I can't be certain," he said softly. "Why are yours black?"

"Because I took a life while saving Malik's. I sinned, but at the same time I saved his life, so they aren't bat wings. Yours are red, which means that you made someone suffer while you were saving Yugi's life," Marik said.

"True. Kaiba was going to kill Yugi once, during his 'Death-T' thing. I had to make him go into a coma, which I guess counts as suffering," Yami replied.

"I see." Marik suddenly gasped, looking fretful.

"What is it?" Yami questioned.

"Malik's in danger. But he's all the way in Egypt!" He cursed, gritting his teeth. He suddenly got an idea. "Yami! Send me to the Shadow Realm, quickly!"

"What! But--!"

"It will save Malik, and I might be able to come back. Do it now!" Marik yelled, glaring.

"But you can't move when you go into the Shadow Realm! I've been there once before, and shackles appear out of nowhere!"

"I _am_ the Shadow Realm, or at least part of it. I'll be able to move freely. Now hurry!"

"If you insist. But you'd better come back!"

"Fine, I will," Marik promised. Yami nodded once and sent Marik to the Shadow Realm, hoping that he'd be alright.

-

Malik cried for help and struggled to get away as the stronger man tried to rape him. Tears streamed down his face, praying that someone, _anyone_, would come and help him.

Suddenly, his shadow quivered and someone familiar stepped out of it.

"Get off of my hikari, you lecherous bastard!" the deep voice commanded. The man flew backwards and hit the dead end of the alley, letting out a cry of pain. Malik looked up to see his yami, Marik, standing in front of him. But what was really surprising was the fact that Marik had a set of large, black wings.

"You--!" the man started, but Marik silenced him by kicking his stomach roughly. He beat the man, his eyes wide and bloodshot with rage, until the would-be rapist stopped breathing. Marik stared at him, breathing hard, his hands, chest, and face splattered with blood. Marik cleaned his hands with a dirty rag lying on the ground until the blood was mostly off. He turned to Malik and hurried over to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, putting his hand on Malik's shoulder to comfort him. "Did he do anything?" Malik looked at him through fear-filled eyes. Marik looked like the devil himself with the blood on his face and hands.

"Get away from me!" Malik cried, pushing away from Marik's touch. He cried into his hands. Marik felt like crying as well. But he understood why Malik was still afraid of him, especially after he had just killed a man.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, looking away from Malik. "For everything. But I just want to help you now. Please tell me if he manage to…well, rape you." Malik shook his head.

"C-can you please just go? I don't want you here at all!" he whispered. Marik sighed softly, sadly. He carefully put Malik's pants back on for him since his hikari was so shaken that his hands were shaking so hard he could barely use them.

"I'm sorry if I scare you," he mumbled to Malik. "I…I just wanted to help you. And…I just wanted you to like me, even just a bit. But that's impossible now." He looked at the ground.

"How are you still alive?" Malik asked, removing his hands from his face so he could hug his legs to his chest.

"Yami actually saved my life," Marik muttered. "He thought that I wasn't really insane. I'm staying in Yugi's mind for now." Malik stared at him.

"I…I guess that I should thank you," he mumbled, looking away. "If you hadn't come here, then he would have actually…" He hesitated, cutting himself off. Marik looked up and smiled at him.

"Sure," he said softly. "You should get back home. It's getting darker out." Malik nodded and tried to stand, but his legs were shaking so hard that he could barely walk. Marik frowned slightly and carefully took Malik into his arms, carrying him. Malik gasped.

"W-what are you doing!" he demanded.

"Taking you home," Marik replied, not looking at Malik. Malik made no objection, he even gripped Marik's shoulders like a small child. Marik managed to find Malik's home and he rang the doorbell. Isis answered the door and gasped in fear when she saw Marik with blood on his face, holding her brother in his arms.

"M-Marik!" she stuttered. Rishid must have heard her, because he hurried to the door, glaring at Marik. Marik gazed at them sadly, his eyes glazed over with tears that didn't want to fall.

"Take him from me," he said softly. He passed the now-asleep Malik to Rishid. "I'll go now," he murmured and evaporated into Malik's shadow.

-

Marik reappeared in his soul room with Yami sitting on the bed, waiting for him. Marik looked extremely depressed, for some reason.

"What's wrong?" Yami asked gently. Marik sat on the bed next to him.

"They still hate me. All of them," he mumbled. He brought his hands to his face and cried into them silently. "I hate it. I just want people to like me and stop hating me. You don't know what it's like, pharaoh, to be hated by everyone. I…I just want to be…l-loved. But no, I make one mistake which leads to many other things, and everyone in the entire world hates me."

"Marik…" Yami murmured gently, frowning at him.

"No one, not even my own hikari, could care for me. You and Yugi are like brothers, and even Ryou likes Bakura. I feel so…alone."

"Marik!" Yami said again, strongly this time.

"What?" Marik asked, looking at him.

"I…I love you!" Yami admitted. Marik stared at him with wide eyes. Yami lowered his gaze from Marik and he hurriedly left the room, now knowing what to say next.

-

'Someone loves me,' was Marik's first thought. 'I'm not alone after all. Someone cares for me. Even after I tried to kill him. He loves me. I'm…I'm loved.'

Meanwhile, Yami sat in his room, thinking that Marik would hate him for what he said. That was the least thing he wanted. He would rather be liked by Marik than hated by him.

Marik got up and knocked on Yami's door.

Yami looked up. He wondered if it was Yugi.

"Come in," he said. The door opened and Marik walked in.

"You really love me? You weren't just saying it?" he asked. "Please, tell me that you weren't just saying it!" Yami stared at him.

"I…I meant it," he replied softly. Marik walked over to him quickly and pulled him into a rough hug, crying softly. "You don't hate me?" Yami asked, disbelieving.

"I don't," Marik managed out. "Thank you," he hissed, clutching Yami so tightly, almost as if the former pharaoh would disappear at any moment. "I…those words, 'I love you,' they mean so much to me. I…I love you too, Yami." Yami gasped.

"You do?" he stuttered. Marik nodded and he bent down slightly to gaze into Yami's eyes. He pulled the other yami into a gentle kiss, closing his eyes in content. Yami's eyes soon slid shut and he kissed Marik back with an equal amount of tenderness and care.

They pulled away and gazed into each other's eyes again, kissed each other once more, both happy with the way things worked out.

-

Meanwhile, Malik and his siblings talked about what had just happened a few minutes ago.

"He…he stopped the man from raping me," Malik told them softly. "But he killed him. I…I don't know what to think."

"He looked extremely concerned for you, though, Malik-sama. I…I don't think that he hates you at all. And if the pharaoh saved his life, then he must be good," Rishid suggested.

"I agree with Rishid," Isis said, putting her arms around Malik's thin shoulders.

"I guess that you two are right," he murmured. "He even apologized for…well, everything. I guess that…I guess that I don't hate him anymore." He smiled to himself, feeling better, for some reason.

"I hope that you thanked him for helping you," Isis said softly. Malik nodded.

"I did, but I don't think that I was all that sincere. I'll have to call him up and tell him," he mumbled.

-

The phone rang the next day and Yami answered it.

"Hello? Yami Mutou speaking," he said softly.

"Hello, pharaoh. This is Malik. Um, is Marik there?" the voice asked.

"Sure. Here he is," Yami said. He let Marik take over.

"Hikari?" Marik said into the phone.

"Hi, Marik. Um…I didn't really mean it when I thanked you for saving me from that guy…so I wanted to apologize for that and thank you again, for real," Malik said. Marik gasped. "So, sorry for not being truthful, and thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, then he probably would have kidnapped me and used me as his personal whore. And I regret trying to send you to Hell, really."

"Th-thank you," Marik said softly.

"And Marik…sorry for hating you. I know that you killed my dad and all, but…you did save my life, since he was going to kill me. I guess that what I'm saying is that…I don't hate you anymore. I want to be your friend, well, no, I want to be your hikari." Marik gasped again. "No, not hikari…how does brother sound?" Marik grinned.

"G-great!" he said happily.

"And Isis said to tell you thank you for saving me, and Rishid did too. So I guess that they're your siblings as well. And if you want to, you can come and live with us." Marik's grin grew wider and Yami appeared in spirit form, standing next to him and smiling happily.

"Malik…I thank you, Isis, and Rishid for the offer but…I can't leave here. I…I found love here." He gazed at Yami. "So…I can't go."

"I understand. Who is it, anyway? Who're you with?" Malik asked.

"The pharaoh, Yami," Marik replied and Yami hugged him gently. He heard Malik gasp on the other end.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I had no idea. That you liked guys, I mean. Well…then again, we are yami and hikari, so you must've gotten my sexual orientation." Marik laughed softly. "Anyway, congratulations on that. I wish both of you well."

"Me too!" said a voice on the other end.

"Isis! You're listening!" Malik exclaimed.

"Duh. Rishid is too."

"I swear, Marik, I can't have a moment's privacy with these two around. Anyway, good luck to you and Yami again, and I hope we can visit each other sometime soon."

"Thank you, Malik, Isis, and Rishid. I appreciate it," Marik said.

"Bye for now, Marik," Malik said. Isis and Rishid said their goodbyes and they all hung up. Marik hugged Yami tightly again, smiling.

"I love you, Yami," he murmured. Yami smiled and hugged the taller teen tightly.

"I love you too, Marik," He murmured back.

One small mistake made everyone but one person hate Marik. That one person, the person Marik had hated, reached out to him and wanted to love him. Marik felt kinder around this person, Yami, thus he became easier to like. After saving his hikari and taking him home, even Malik, who had hated him the most, began to like him better.

Soon after, Yami admitted his love to Marik, making the Egyptian yami feel different, in a good way. He felt loved. At one time he was alone in the world, but then, suddenly, he had someone that cared for him. He didn't care what gender Yami was, male or female, all that mattered was that he loved him.

And then only a few hours after, Marik got the family he had always wanted. He had Malik and Rishid for his brothers, and Isis for his sister.

One small mistake might have made everyone hate Marik, but one man, the former pharaoh, saved his life despite all the hatred Marik had towards him. If it weren't for that, Malik would have been raped and kidnapped, Isis and Rishid would never see him again, Yami would lose the one he loved, and while all that happened Marik would suffer endlessly in Hell.

All because of one man, one great act of kindness…

End

Mew: -sweatdrop- I didn't understand the ending, either. Gomen nasai! Anyway, hopefully you didn't scream too much if you don't like Clashshipping, but finished it just because you wanted to prove you weren't a quitter.

Draiku: -out cold-

Mew: Eh… anyway, they aren't that bad together. One thing that cracked me up while writing this was the fact that Marik had to bend over slightly to kiss Yami! The height different between the two is hilarious! –cracks up laughing- Until next time, everyone! Ja ne!

Yoko: -sweatdrop- Uh, please R&R! –hands out Marik plushies-


End file.
